


Sunshower

by QuinnyBee



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, RIP cheese sauce we hardly knew ye, Spoilers for the Balance Arc, graphic depictions of wedding stress, like all of it, my headcanons let me show you them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 00:44:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15830268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuinnyBee/pseuds/QuinnyBee
Summary: "You think I should invite her, don't you?"Taako leans a little too hard into his pre-wedding stress, and Lup steps in to remind him that some things are actually an easy fix.





	Sunshower

“You think I should invite her, don't you?”

 

He had been aiming for “gently disapproving ribbing”, but he knew there was too much accusation to it the moment it left his mouth. Taako cringed internally, face turning firmly down towards the mediocre Mornay sauce he was trying to improve. If Lup registered his tone she took it in stride. She leaned in over his arm with a spoon and dipped out a mouthful of the sauce with a vague “hn?” sound. Tasting the sauce, she pulled a face.

 

“Needs flavor,” she said. “Like, _any_ flavor. You feeling alright, bro? This is kind of basic bitch for you to be struggling with.”

 

“I'm not struggling, I'm _finessing_ ,” Taako sniffed back, cranking the pepper mill over the pan so hard his wrist began to seize. 

 

Lup stuck her tongue out at him before going back over to the section of the counter she had commandeered for mockups of the place settings. “Anyway, what what were you saying?”

 

The knot in Taako's stomach that had been slowly easing with the thought that she hadn't heard him cinched itself tight again. “The guest list needs finalized so we can send our invites out,” he said, indelicate boldness muddling down into a sludge of hesitance. “I just, uh. You prob'ly think she should be on it. Just saying.” 

 

The pronoun passed between them unelaborated but not unnoticed. Lup looked up from the list of napkin animal instructions she'd gotten from Ren. “Oh yeah?” It wasn't quite a challenge, but there was an edge to the way she said it.

 

“I'm not judging, Lulu, you two are friendly. Friends? Friendly. Anyway, it's fine if you do. It's fine,” Taako rambled. This was going infinitely more poorly than he had imagined it would, and he had anticipated it going pretty badly.

 

“If you don't want her to come, don't invite her,” Lup said. Just like that, like it was all that simple.

 

“Certain people might expect her to be there.”

 

“I think 'certain people' can hop off your jock on your big day, bro,” Lup snorted, one eyebrow arching high at the thought of him caring that much about appearances. “If you don't think she should be there, she shouldn't come,” Lup said again, shaking her head. She paused, then asked, “ _Do_ you think she shouldn't be there?”

 

Taako was very tempted to shoot from the hip and inform Lup in no uncertain terms that he wanted Lucretia at his wedding about as much as he wanted to get an un-anesthetized root canal. When he pictured that day, though, surrounded by everyone he cared about and celebrating the man he loved most in the world, her absence from the image was just as painful. He snatched the paprika off the counter and shook it violently over the pot.

 

“Hey.” Lup was using her “okay, but now we have to talk about real feelings” voice that always sounded way too much like their aunt. Taako ignored the new clench in his gut, stirring so hard he was sure the sauce was going to split any second. “Babe. Taako. Jesus,  _ breathe _ , would you?” Lup took his face in her hands and made him turn to face her. Taako obediently took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. 

 

“Listen to me, okay?” Lup said softly, her thumbs brushing his cheekbones. “Whatever else there is, whatever drama is out there right now. You are about to have  _ your _ Best Day Ever and  _ you deserve to have this be yours _ . You aren't going to get a wedding in every port like me and Pants did, so you've gotta make sure this one's a club banger, y'know? Make yourself happy, and the rest of us will be happy for you.” Taako coughed out a weak laugh in spite of himself and Lup gave his cheeks an affectionate squeeze. “And as far as she and I go, I forgave her for two things and two things only: coming up with her dumbass plan to counteract my dumbass plan, and not finding me when I was half-dead in an umbrella. End of, full stop. If you want to cut her out completely til the end of time, no judgements. I love her dearly, but if she thinks she's entitled to being forgiven for any of the bullshit she pulled on you, she can choke on my entire ass.”

 

Taako began to laugh at this, and once he started it felt impossible to stop. Lup joined in, wrapping her arms around him and letting him bury his face in her shoulder as he shook helplessly. He'd had Lup back for long enough now that from time to time he could almost pretend she had never left; hearing her say something so vulgar, so  _ Lup _ , in that gentle matter-of-fact way, though, felt like the first time he'd been sure that any of this was  _ real _ . Taako wasn't sure whose knees gave out first, but the two of them sat together in a huddle on the kitchen floor until long after the laughter had quieted and his sauce had scorched.

 

 

Taako breezed past the reception desk of the Neverwinter Grand Library with a cursory smile-and-wave. The young half-Drow at the counter gaped as he passed, eyes wide in recognition. Taako made a mental note to drop back by and scribble down an autograph on his way out. He paused in front of the heavy door marked  _ Executive President of Library Services  _ just long enough to straighten his clothes and raise his head to an appropriately haughty level. A deep breath in, and he pushed through without knocking.

 

Lucretia sat behind a broad oak desk, head bowed over her paperwork. She looked slightly older than Taako remembered but she was leaning into her age with a warmer dignity now. She had forgone the large portrait behind her desk, opting instead for a huge window with a view of the city. Lucretia glanced up as he came in as if expecting someone else. When she saw who it was, her eyes widened and she stood up in a rush. There was a moment of hesitation as she debated if she should come around the desk to meet him, but Taako saved her the effort by sweeping up level with the desk.

 

“Taako, I. This is a wonderful surprise, I didn't expect. I didn't expect to see you here,” Lucretia said. She smiled widely in spite of her sudden nerves. “I'm sorry, I don't have anything prepared for visitors, I could have Varron fetch something—”

 

Taako interrupted her by reaching into the inside pocket of his cloak and pulling out a square buff envelope. He slid it across the desk to her, not sure he could keep his hands from shaking if he handed it to her. Lucretia took it slowly, taking a gratifying moment to appreciate his choice in stationery before she opened it. Her eyes scanned over the card inside, then again, then a third time. Lucretia pressed a hand to her mouth as she sank down into her chair. Her eyes were full of tears as she lifted them to meet Taako's. The gratitude and relief in that look made his chest swell with pride and clench with apprehension in a deeply uncomfortable internal thunderclap.

 

“T-Taako, I...” Lucretia began, her voice as full of tears as her eyes.

 

“Presents aren't optional,” Taako said, cutting across her before she could get heartfelt and make this worse. “I expect something expensive,” he added, giving her desk a couple of sardonic punctuating slaps. Deed done and nerves exhausted, he whirled on his heel in a flourish of cape and strode for the door. As the door shut behind him, Taako heard Lucretia begin to laugh through her tears.

 


End file.
